Improved weather-strip for doors



" projects, thereby NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;C

A. n. srsoBEL, or New YORK, N. Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 54,793, dated May 15, 1866.

To all whom #may concern:

Be it known that I, ANN E. STRoBEL, of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors for Buildings. The following is ai'ull and complet-e description ot' my invention, in which reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which forni a part of this specification.

Figure l represents the outside ot' a closed door and connected framing containing my invention. Fig. 2 is a corresponding view ofthe inside ofthe door. Fig. 3 represents the inside of a door and framing, with the door closed and a portion ofthe door and the front of the latch removed. lt shows the plate D with the door locked and the connection ot' the .plate with the latch. Fig. 4 is a correspoi'iding view with thc plate raised ready for the door to open. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line S S in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 7 is an edge view ot' thef T l in Fig. 4. Fig. door detachedfrom the casing with the plate down as when locked. Fig. 8 is a section of a portion on the line V V in Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a view of the part A detached7 as seen from within the body of the door, with the plate locked` down; and Fig. l() is a similar view with the plate unlocked.

My invention relates to the outside doors of dwellings, stores, 85o., and is designed to serve both asafastenin g tothe door and as a weatherstrip, to prevent snow, rain, or wind from driving under it.

To effect this I place a plate or strip, which I prefer to make of metal, longitudinally along the bottom of the door and within the body thereof, and hinge it so that it may be raised' or lowered by the motion ot' the bolt ot the latch as it moves out or is withdrawn in the act of latching or unlatching the door. I also form a groove in the threshold beneath the door, intorwhich, when the door is closed, the plate closing the space beneath the door against driving storms and wind, and, by turning a knob or button placed just above the plate, which is only accessible from the inside, the door is securely locked against entrance from without. y

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will `proceed to describe it by the aid of the drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, in which similar letters ot reference indicate like parts in all the iigurcs. i

A is the door, hinged lo the framing B by the hinges a, on which it swings in the ordinary manner. C is the threshold or sill of' the door, and contains a longitudinal groove, c, in its upper surface, extending the whole distance from one side ot' the framing to the other.

The portions A and A2 ot' the door are removable upon the inside, and disclose the interior mechanism, as shown in Figs.. 3 and 4.

D is a metal plate suspended by the links E E, and when the door is closed is brought directly abo\'e the groove c, into which it is projected byits own weight and by a spring, to be described hereinafter. Ihc plate D fits closely within the groove c, and serves both as a secure fastening for the doorand asa weatherstrip, to protect the interior ot the building against the passage beneath thc door of storm, dust, and wind.

Each of the two links E E is pinned at one end to the plate D and at the other tothe door A by the pin e, upon which they hinge. The plate D extends nearly the whole width of the door A, and the links E E are connected to the plate near each end, as shown.

The hinging of the plate by the two links provides that, as it is raised from or depressed into the groove c, its lower edge shall be kept parallel, or nearly so, with the top ofthe threshold, and that although the power by which it is raised is applied only at one end, yet the other end will rise at the same time.

A rod, d, connects one end of the plate D to the horizontal arm ot' the bellcrank lever F in the latch of the door, and the opposite or perpendicular arm of the lever tits into a notch formed in the bolt I.

The lever F is pinned to the plate of the latch at its angle by the pin-f, so that' as the bolt moves backward to unlatch the door the lever, acting through the rod d, raises the plate entirely out of the groove c and leaves the door free to open, as shown in Fig. 4. As the door is closed the plate D slides up the inclined face or top C of the threshold (l until it arrives at its proper position above the groove c, when the spring t', pressing against the end of the bolt I, acting through the lever F and rod d, together with the weight of the plate, project downward the plate D into the groove c, as shown in Fig. 3.

snugly The guides G steady the plate D and keep it in a proper vertical position without bringing any strain upon the renovable part A', which Inay be quite light. The guides may be omitted and the part A depended upon to keep the plate in place; but I prefer the guides.

A knob, M ,is inserted in the part A,whicl1 is free to turn upon thc application of a reasonable force by the hand. The shank of this knob passes entirely through A' and carries an arm7 N, within the door. This arm N lies directly above the plate D, and when the 4knob is turned so that the arm projects to oneside, as shown in Figs. 4 and 10, the plate is free to rise out of the groove. When the arm is turned downward upon the top of the plate,as in Figs. 3 and 9, it bears upon and looks the plate securely down, so that it cannot rise out of the groove c, and the door cannot be opened until the knob M is turned back again. The knob being upon the inside of the door, and having noconnection whatever through to the outside of the door, a person within the house can,by turning the knob, securely prevent the entrance of any one from thc outside.

The plate D may be made to operate entirely independent of the latch. To do this I disconnect the plate from the bolt I and insert a spring to keep the plate raised out of the groove c, when, by turning the knob M, the spring is compressed by the arm N and the plate D is forced into the groove c and held there until released by turning back the knob; or the spring may be dispensed with and the plate D linked to thearni N, so as to to rise or be depressed with 1t; represented.

but I prefer the method I place a metal slide or bearing-piece (not represented) on the inclined surface C of the thresholfbfor the lower edge of the plate D to press upon as it is forced upward iu closing the door. Small friction -wheels' may be attached transversely to the edge of the plate D, upon which the plate rides as the door is closed or open; but I do not consider such wheels necessary.

The plate D may be made of Wood, if desired, but metal is preferable, on account ofits greater strength7 and because it will not shrink and swell like wood with the variations of moisture in the atmosphere.

I propose to place plates of metal upon the top of the threshold along the side of the groove c, to prevent the threshold from bruising or crumbling away by the action of the plate as it slides into and out of the groove.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The plate D, attached to the door and operating as a weather-strip by projecting into and receding from the groove c with the movenient of the bolt I in the act of latching or unlatching the door, in combination with suitable means for locking tlic plate within the groove, substantially in the manner and for thc purpose herein set forth.

A. E. STROBEL.

Xitnesses J It. FISHER, K. W. Srnfrsorg. 

